Premier League bootroom: Harry's got Rangers digging for victory

One of my favourite films is The Great Escape — and I couldn’t help but think of it when I was watching QPR beat Sunderland 3-1 last weekend.

Harry was the name of the tunnel that some of the prisoners of war escaped through in that film, and Harry Redknapp looks as if he is performing his own great escape at Loftus Road.

When he took over at the end of November, QPR had no wins and just four points from their 12 games, and unrest meant they looked doomed. Now there is real hope.

Come on then: Harry Redknapp can inspire his QPR squad to swerve relegation

If you did a Premier League table from when Redknapp took over, QPR would be 10th, which tells you a lot about the great job he has done so far.

He arrived to a divided dressing room, with some players brought in by Neil Warnock and some by Mark Hughes. However, Redknapp once again has shown his ability to tickle and tease a little bit extra out of his players, and they are now four points off safety with a relatively kind run-in.

QPR don’t face any of the top four, and games against Aston Villa, Fulham, Wigan, Stoke and Reading are winnable. Even the home game with Newcastle will bring Redknapp and his squad hope.

Redknapp doesn’t have the same quality to work with as he did at Spurs, who are still reaping the benefits from his time in charge, particularly in Gareth Bale.

The first thing Redknapp made sure of was that Rangers became hard to beat. Adding Christopher Samba in defence has made a huge difference, and five clean sheets in the Barclays Premier League is no mean feat for a team near the foot of the table. Only seven teams have more in that period.

He has a warmth in his personality
that attracts people. Peter Crouch also wanted to move, Jermaine Jenas
is back playing for him despite rarely featuring during their time
together at Spurs, and the situation with Jose Bosingwa has gone full
circle.

Redknapp criticised
his attitude, let him have a think about it, and now he has come back a
willing competitor and was excellent against Sunderland.

You can see how much it means to Redknapp by the way he is celebrating the goals — he has a real hunger still.

Full circle: Jose Bosingwa (centre) has been brought in from the cold

There
have been times when the great escape tunnel looked like it might have
collapsed — heavy defeats by Liverpool and Swansea — but QPR have
recovered and the other teams are now looking over their shoulders.

This could be the greatest escape of the Premier League era.

Winning at Aston Villa will not be easy. Rangers have not won there in the league since 1992, when Les Ferdinand scored the winner.

Paul Lambert’s side have improved in recent weeks and it was a good win at Reading last week. And they will be buoyed by the idea that a win over Redknapp’s side would put them seven points clear of them.

Threat: Christian Benteke will be on the prowl and beating Villa won't be easy for Redknapp's men

I’m backing Brian

I
was sad to see Brian McDermott leave Reading. He has done a magnificent
job for 14 years in various roles and he always impressed me when I
watched him at close quarters.

He
loved his players and they loved him — which is rare when you are near
the bottom of the table. I hope he gets back into football very soon.

Support: Brian McDermott was loved by his players and he loved them too